, A Question

[Paul39]

You are the most experienced accursed skew operator I know of.

I have in the past quartered a log and stuck it between centers, knocked off the high spots and bark with my recycled lawn mower blade, and gone right to the accursed skew with no more drama than if I had taken it all the way to round with the makeshift roughing gouge.

Tonight as I was gathering wood for my boiler for a cold night, I picked up a heavy close grained 2 X 2 and saved it for a tool handle.

I stuck it in the lathe and started right off with the a. skew. No catch until the piece was almost round, due to my inattention.

Do you always take your spindles to round with a roughing gouge before starting with the a. skew?

I don't see any danger as long as I pay attention to the phantom outside of the turning timber and cut there. Do you?

All spindle turners feel free to comment. I do bowls, and the only spindles I make are tool handles, mallets, and clubs for adjusting things.

[Jim Carroll]

Paul most spindle turners will use what comes to hand first whether it is the roughing gouge or Skew chisel.

As with the roughing gouge it is more imortant to start at the ends and work towards the end and slowly work towards the centre as the skew will pick up any weird grain easier than the gouge. The angle on the skew is generally steeper than the gouge so slices easier.

[Drillit]

Hello Paul 39,
I was always taught gouge before skew - hence the name I guess "roughing" gouge. I just find the gouge more sturdy (heavy duty). But I luv slicing with the skew - except when I get a dig in. Drillit.

[RETIRED]

Paul. As Jim said whatever is in your hand for 2" stuff but generally I use the roughing gouge first.

A little tip if you do use the skew to rough down is to "break" the corners by doing a pass backwards.

[Old Croc]

Paul, as a former bowl turner only, who thanks to Robbos tuition at the "Prossie Turnout" :2tsup:is now a spindle turner as well, I find it quicker and safer, to rough it down with the " Spindle Roughing Gouge", and there will be no damage to the razor sharp edge on the skew. Just my 4,013,679 pesos worth.
regards,
Crocy.
P.S. only 7 months to the Prossie Turnout, and I am getting excited already.

[mkypenturner]

Paul, as a former bowl turner only, who thanks to Robbos tuition at the "Prossie Turnout" :2tsup:is now a spindle turner as well, I find it quicker and safer, to rough it down with the " Spindle Roughing Gouge", and there will be no damage to the razor sharp edge on the skew. Just my 4,013,679 pesos worth.
regards,
Crocy.
P.S. only 7 months to the Prossie Turnout, and I am getting excited already.
id use a roughing gouge then my skew

yep i cant wait for prossy again so gunna expand some minds this time i hope
and just wondering if is going to make the journey north again ??

[powderpost]

Prefer a gouge for roughing. A slew tends to produce large triangular tooth picks from the corners, and they can hurt. But that depends largely on the piece of timber. For a bit of 50 x 50mm, I would still go for a gouge of some sort.
Jim

[Paul39]

Old Croc: I find it quicker and safer, to rough it down with the " Spindle Roughing Gouge", and there will be no damage to the razor sharp edge on the skew.

Ah Yes, very good point. I did encounter a hidden finishing nail in that piece of 2 X 2 to the great detriment of the razor edge of the accursed skew. Finding that with the lawn mower blade would have saved me some honing.

Thanks to all for the comments.

[Tim the Timber Turner]

Prefer a gouge for roughing. A slew tends to produce large triangular tooth picks from the corners, and they can hurt. But that depends largely on the piece of timber. For a bit of 50 x 50mm, I would still go for a gouge of some sort.
Jim

I agree Jim.
Roughing with a skew in harder timbers tends to knock the edge off quickly.
A 25mm roughing gouge at 45 or 50 degrees has a much tougher cutting edge and is a more robust tool for harder timbers like redgum.

Cheers
Tim:)

[dr4g0nfly]

I also go use whatever comes to hand when it comes to knocking the corners off small spindle timber I prefer the Skew.

Then again I do have a large (old Carbon Steel) skew I actually call my Roughing-Out Skew and this is all I use it for. And I agree with - draw the skew backward to rough-out, especially for the first few cuts to get the worst of the corners off.

But always the Spindle Roughing Out Gouge for larger stuff.